Chapter 6 - The Ambush
Guns echoed like thunder across the estate. Glass rained down, cutting into the furniture and carpets.
"MILA!" Ava shrieked, trying to crawl toward her sister.
"Stay down!" Matteo commanded, using his own body as a shield over Ava. He pulled a sleek black semi-automatic pistol from his shoulder holster, firing three rapid shots through the broken window toward the tree line.
A loud scream echoed from outside as an attacker fell from the balcony.
Luca and four Moretti guards burst into the room, returning heavy fire. "Boss! They breached the south perimeter gate! It's Vance's hit squad!"
"Get the child and the medical team into the safe room NOW!" Matteo ordered, his voice echoing with absolute authority.
Luca ducked under a spray of bullets, grabbing Mila and carrying her out of the room, while the doctors scrambled behind them.
Matteo looked down at Ava, whose face was pale with terror, small cuts on her shoulders from the flying glass. "Ava, look at me!" he demanded, grabbing her cheeks gently.
"I'm scared!" she sobbed.
"I will not let anything happen to you," Matteo vowed, his eyes blazing with a dark, lethal fire. "Do you trust me?"
Ava looked into his steady, unyielding eyes and nodded frantically. "Yes!"
"Run to the hallway. Luca is waiting. Go!"
Matteo pushed her toward the door and turned back toward the window, stepping directly into the line of fire like a demon unleashed. He fired with terrifying precision, taking down three heavily armed men in seconds.
Ava ran into the hallway, where Luca guided her down a hidden stairwell leading into a concrete bunker beneath the mansion. Mila ran into her arms, crying hysterically.
"Ava! Is Matteo going to die?!" Mila sobbed into her sister's chest.
Ava squeezed her sister tightly, listening to the muffled explosions and gunfire echoing from above. "No, baby. Monsters don't die easily."
For two agonizing hours, they waited in the cold darkness of the bunker. Every minute felt like an eternity. Ava prayed harder than she ever had in her life—not for herself, but for the man who had risked everything to protect them.
Finally, the heavy steel door of the bunker unlatched with a loud CLANG.
Ava stood up defensively, shielding Mila.
The door swung open. Standing in the doorway was Matteo. His white shirt was soaked in blood—none of it his own—and his knuckles were bruised. He was breathing heavily, holding his gun at his side.
He swept his gaze over the room until it landed on Ava.
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"It's over," Matteo said quietly. "The estate is secure."
Ava couldn't stop herself. She ran across the room and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face into his chest, uncaring of the blood on his clothes. Matteo froze in shock for a fraction of a second before wrapping his powerful arms tightly around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
